“President Obama, Meet Citizen Bob, Who Answered Your Call”

President Barack Obama of the Capitol of Washington, it is my most sincere honor to introduce you to Citizen Bob Alexander of the State of Washington, who by the standards you have set to ‘give our all’ has valiantly answered your call. In fact, Citizen Bob answered that call long before you were President. He seized his responsibilities gladly – not grudgingly – just as you asked at your inauguration. And now President Obama, Citizen Bob and millions more, would like you do the same.

Before I tell you more about Citizen Bob, allow me to remind you of a few of the inspirational words you delivered at your inauguration. Here they are in a 31-second clip:

Dare say, Mr. President, I agree with you completely. And fortunately for you, and for this country, so do Citizen Bob and millions more who are taking on difficult tasks just like we did before we made you President. The only difference is that under the previous administration our patriotism and dedication were viewed as disloyal, and our hard work was deemed unAmerican, even though we volunteered our days, our nights, and in many cases our lives to upholding our Constitution. We took no verbal oath but we acted as though we had.

You see, for millions of us, our country is so beloved that we ask no pay or elected office to act on her behalf. We love her THAT much. It was daunting to protect her from her enemies for the past eight years because her primary enemy was her President, George W. Bush. He stole her dignity, plundered her resources, and slew her human treasure. And now that he’s gone, it’s time to bring him to justice. In truth, President Obama, if you don’t pursue Mr. Bush for his crimes, we will question your love of your country and your devotion to its laws. Remember what you said in your inauguration as shown in the video above:

“What’s required of us now is a new era of responsibility; a recognition on the part of every American that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world. Duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there’s nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task. This is the price and the promise of citizenship.”

Yes, President Obama, just as you this to us, we say it back to you. If ordinary people can do extraordinary things, surely you can, too. The difference is yours won’t be as extraordinary because you have the tools to prosecute Bush – including the will of the people and the HOPE of the world.

Read the words of Citizen Bob, who exemplifies your example of citizenship. Citizen Bob is a regular guy with a small online coffee company who has dedicated his life to bringing George Bush to justice. Bob’s efforts on behalf of America are selfless and heroic. Here is Bob’s story in his own words:

Last July, I read Vince Bugliosi’s “The Prosecution of George W. Bush For Murder.” After years of thinking that Bush, Cheney, and Rice would walk away from their crimes, here at last was hope that something could be done to help right their horrible wrongs. Bugliosi clearly establishes the case that after Bush leaves office any District Attorney can prosecute Bush for murder if a member of the military from his or her own county had been killed in Iraq.

“In lieu of buying coffee this month, please consider picking up a copy of Vincent Bugliosi’s new book instead. When you’re finished reading the book, mail your copy to your State Attorney, or to your county District Attorney. Or better yet, deliver the book in person.”

My wife Arminda and I met Mr. Bugliosi when he came to Seattle to promote his book. We became more committed than ever to get “The Prosecution of George W. Bush For Murder” in front of as many eyes as possible. A friend of ours, Jude Morford of the organization womanstanding, called and asked if I would go with her to deliver a copy to our District Attorney. Then I had an idea. Let’s send this book, written by America’s preeminent prosecutor to every District Attorney in the country. Clearly another attorney would grasp the case Bugliosi laid out and hopefully take action. So we set up prosecutegeorgebush.com to bring George Bush to justice.

President Obama, in the event you haven’t heard, Vince Bugliosi’s book has been praised by eminent attorneys nationwide. According to Lawrence Velvel, the Dean of Massachusetts School of Law, who convened a weekend symposium in September ’08 on the war-crimes and prosecution of George W. Bush, where Mr. Bugliosi was a featured speaker:

“Vincent Bugliosi has written a very serious book on a very serious subject. For the first time, the need to use state murder statutes to punish presidential murder has now arisen, lest Bush and company get away with serious crimes. Bugliosi understands this.”

Bugliosi’s case against George W. Bush differs from the war crimes case under discussion by Constitutional scholars in that the war-crimes case centers on torture and illegal wiretapping and Bugliosi’s case deals with traditional murder in which Bush, like any other murder defendant, would stand trial in an American court and if convicted could face the death penalty or life in prison. It is Bugliosi’s belief that no citizen is above the law and that the American criminal court is suitable to try Bush once he’s out of office.

Undoubtedly, if there’s any American prosecutor able to craft a murder case against George Bush, it’s former Los Angeles prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, who first gained fame for trying the notorious Charles Manson Tate-LaBianca murder case in 1970 and ’71. In that case Bugliosi won first degree murder convictions for all defendants, including Manson who wasn’t present at any of the crimes. Bugliosi was so consummate in his prosecution that Manson was charged with first degree murder for crimes he hadn’t physically committed. Bugliosi’s passionate genius, mastery of the law, and fearlessness in the face of Manson family threats, enabled him to prevail in the prosecution, much like his genius and fearlessness would compel him to prevail in this case he has crafted against George Bush.

One would be hard put to find a law professional of any acclaim who would dispute the prosecutor credentials of Vincent Bugliosi. In the words of famed defense attorney F. Lee Bailey, Vince is “the quintessential prosecutor.” According to Harvard Law Professor, Alan Dershowitz, Vince is “as good a prosecutor as there ever was.” As told to me for a previous article by Elizabeth De La Vega, veteran Justice Department attorney who served under Presidents Reagan, Bush I, Clinton and Bush II, and author of the New York Times Best seller, “United States v. George W. Bush et al.”

“Vincent Bugliosi is a consummate prosecutor who has now put together yet another compelling case. His is a cry for justice on behalf of the thousands upon thousands of people who have suffered irreparable harm — and the many of who have died — as a result of the criminal conduct of the President of the United States. This passionate and powerful brief should not be ignored.”

As shared with me by Constitutional lawyer, author and former president of the ACLU OF Southern California, Stephen Rohde in that same previous article:

“At a time when the Democratic leadership has utterly failed to pursue the remedy of impeachment provided by the founders in the Constitution, Bugliosi’s innovative challenge to indict Bush for murder should be pursued by attorneys general in every state where men and women have died due to Bush’s criminal acts. This Nation cannot allow Bush to leave office and live out his days being paid huge fees to give speeches and serve on corporate boards instead of being tried for the deaths and injuries he has caused. Whether he is forced to stand trial for murder or for war crimes and crimes against humanity, George W. Bush must be held accountable.”

These are solid endorsements from serious professionals who don’t offer compliments lightly.

Now back to my favorite new hero, Citizen Bob of Seattle, as he continues his tale:

The publisher of “The Prosecution of George W. Bush For Murder” was initially going to sell us the book at a 60% discount. At that price we had to raise a little over $40,000 to purchase 2,200 books to distribute to D.A.’s across the nation. All the proceeds would go to buying the books from the publisher, purchasing the padded mailers and labels, shipping costs, and credit card processing fees. Everything else for this project was provided by volunteers.

Our site, prosecutegeorgebush.com, went “live” Wednesday night, September 17, 2008. By the end of November we had received about $11,000 in donations. We were $29,000 short of our goal when out of nowhere on December 9th the publisher called and offered the books at cost. Suddenly we were just $2,900 away. Feeling hopeful, we went back to the only media that had given us any help; the great Mike Malloy on novaM radio. Thanks to Malloy’s listeners, over the next two days, prosecutegeorgebush.com received over 95% of the money we needed, arriving in $3, $5, $6, $10, and $15 donations. In the spirit of truth and justice, Malloy’s generous listeners helped us purchase the 2,200 books which arrived on January 15th as 5 pallets of 4,000 pounds of books.

Bob and Jude receiving some of the books

Jude and volunteers standing with boxes of books

In the next two weeks we’ll be sending out copies of “The Prosecution of George W. Bush For Murder” to every prosecuting attorney who had a member of the military from his or her jurisdiction killed in Iraq. A list of all the prosecuting attorneys will be posted on the website. I’ll send an email to every donor asking them to go to prosecutegeorgebush.com, find their District Attorney on the list, and write, call, and email to ask them to read the book and move forward to prosecute George W. Bush. I encourage everyone in America who believes that no one is above the law to do the same. We’ve got to let the district attorneys know why they received the book and what we expect them to do with it. We’ve purchased the padded mailers, labels, toner, and reams of paper for the cover letter written by Mr. Bugliosi.

Below is the copy of Vince Bugliosi’s cover letter that will accompany every book. Feel free to email it or take a copy direct to your District Attorney to make the case for the prosecution of George W. Bush for murder:

I am herein enclosing a copy of my New York Times bestselling book The Prosecution of George W. Bush For Murder. I hope that you will find the time to read it and that you will agree with its essential conclusion-that George Bush took this nation to war in Iraq on a lie, under false pretenses, and therefore, under the law, he is guilty of murder for the deaths of over 4,000 young American soldiers who have died so far fighting his war in Iraq.

If you agree, I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to talk or perhaps meet with you to discuss two main points: whether there is sufficient legally admissible evidence against Bush (in my opinion, there is clear and overwhelming evidence) to warrant a criminal prosecution against him now that he has left office, and whether your office would have jurisdiction to prosecute him (see pages 154-156, 168, 305-307, and 309-310 of my book) for the murder of any soldier or soldiers from your county who died fighting Bush’s war. If the answer to each of these questions is “yes,” and you are willing to proceed with this legal case, I would of course be available to assist you in any way you saw fit in this historic prosecution. That assistance could range, if you chose, from being a consultant all the way up to and including being appointed a special prosecutor.

Indeed, a recent candidate for a state Attorney General announced at a press conference with me that if she won, she would appoint me special prosecutor to seek a murder indictment against George Bush. But she entered the race too late (on September 18, just a month and a half before the election), and because she had an under-financed campaign she was unable to get her message out to the citizens of the state. As a result, she did not do well against a well-entrenched Democratic incumbent who had been in office since 1998. It should be mentioned that a poll showed that by 4-1, people in the state said they would vote for a candidate for Attorney General who would pursue Bush criminally. But the campaign, without adequate funds, was unable to connect the candidate with this sentiment already out there. In a related vein, a New York Times-CBS national poll in 2005 showed that the majority of Americans believed that Bush had “intentionally misled” America into war in Iraq.

I don’t have to tell you that in America, no man is so high that he is above the law. If we prosecute those in America who only commit one murder, under what theory don’t we prosecute a president who is criminally responsible for over four thousand murders? And let’s not forget the over 100,000 innocent Iraqi men, women, children and babies who have died horrible, violent deaths because of Bush’s war. Bush is obviously guilty of these murders also, but I was unable to establish jurisdiction here in American to prosecute Bush for the deaths of these Iraqi citizens. However, I was able to establish jurisdiction here in America to prosecute Bush for the deaths of those American soldiers who have died in Iraq fighting Bush’s war.

By way of footnote, although I am aware of one constitutional scholar who says that George Bush has immunity from prosecution, the only legal authority he cites for this is a civil case, Nixon v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 731 (1982). But the Fitzgerald case only holds that a president has immunity from civil lawsuits, not criminal prosecution. Indeed, the United States Constitution itself (Article I, Section 3, cl. 7) and The Federalist Papers (Alexander Hamilton in essay number 69 in 1787) make it clear that the president has no immunity from prosecution. If a president had such immunity, there wouldn’t have been any need for President Ford to pardon former President Nixon in 1974. Several prominent constitutional scholars have endorsed the conclusion of my book that Bush can be prosecuted for murder in an American courtroom for the deaths of American soldiers in the Iraq war.

One additional point. The cost of this proposed prosecution would be great, most likely far beyond the budget of your office. However, there can be little doubt that if it became known that your office was actually proceeding in the prosecution of Bush, and funds were needed, all the money that was necessary would pour in from people around the country to help finance the prosecution. This, of course, is completely permissible. An example in point (but where the group was a number of Louisiana businessmen) was New Orleans DA Jim Garrison’s prosecution of Clay Shaw for conspiracy to commit murder in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

To capsulize my feelings on this matter, although I may not succeed, I’m not going to be satisfied until I see George Bush in an American courtroom being prosecuted for first degree murder. George Bush cannot be permitted to get away with murder. I realize my biggest obstacle is the perceptive observation made by Mark Twain: “Why is physical courage so common, but moral courage so very rare?”

Thank you in advance for your consideration of this matter, one that would be the biggest murder case in this nation’s history. I look forward to a positive response from you at your earliest convenience.

Sincerely,

Vincent Bugliosi

P.S. A documentary for the big screen based on my book is nearing completion and is scheduled to be released within the next six months.

President Obama, one can’t quarrel with your 31-second call to action in the video above in which you praised public service and heralded its need. Your words and image were inspiring and your message was one to heed. But what you didn’t acknowledge, Sir, in your memorable statement is how for the past eight years of the George W. Bush administration, American patriots have already been giving “their all to endless difficult tasks.”

On a daily basis tens of thousands, perhaps even millions of Americans, have tried through creative means to make their leaders abide by the Constitution and the tenets of justice and morality upon which this nation was formed. But despite how hard we tried – how many phone calls we made, rallies we attended, letters we wrote, faxes we sent, meetings we held, imprisonments we endured, we were lambasted, ridiculed and ignored. Indeed, had America’s war critics been listened to; had its healthcare advocates been heard; had its environmentalists been acknowledged; had its opponents to greed, imperialism and corporatism been respected, you, Mr. Obama, our new President, wouldn’t face the dire dilemmas you’re facing right now. The problem was never lack of citizen effort and involvement. The problem was, and remains to this day, the purposeful deafness of this nation’s electeds stemming from a political system that prioritizes partisanship and fundraising above patriotism and governing.

In these United States, YOU, President Obama, have the good fortune of knowing that dedicated citizens like Bob and Arminda Alexander and Jude Morford are working everyday to better our nation. As a lawyer yourself, I’m certain you would find Mr. Bugliosi’s book most informative on how to go forward with the murder prosecution of George W. Bush. Since I’m certain you’re a man who loves justice and honors the rule of law, you should have no opposition to an open investigation of the crimes of the Bush administration.

Should Mr. Bush and his cronies be found guilty of murder, as former prosecutor Bugliosi believes they would be, or guilty of war crimes as Constitutional scholars believe they would be, then let the prosecutions go forth and hold him accountable for his crimes. Today in America, over two million people are wasting away in our prisons – many for nonviolent acts. Many because of drugs. In some cases for heinous crimes. But regardless how heinous some of their crimes may be, none are as far reaching as those of George W. Bush. None have caused the carnage of George W. Bush.

And so, Mr. President, in honor of great citizens like Bob whose efforts we know you hold dear, and the rule of law we know you revere, please be a citizen hero for America and appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the crimes of George Bush. For the record, citizen hero Bugliosi is eager to come onboard.

About Linda Milazzo

Linda Milazzo is a Los Angeles based participatory journalist and educator. Since 1974, she has divided her time between the entertainment industry, government organizations, community development projects and educational programs.

Linda began her writing career in advertising and promotions. From 1976 to 1989, she operated an independent public relations service providing specialty writing for individual and corporate clients. A socio-political activist since the Vietnam war, Linda has focused on political writing since 2002. Her essays, letters and commentaries have appeared in domestic and international journals, newspapers and magazines. She's an educator and creator of a writers' program she's taught privately and in public schools.

Linda has facilitated an advocacy writing workshop and has developed an advocacy writing program for implementation in public and private educational institutions and in community based organizations. She's a regular contributor to numerous high profile and highly respected news and opinion websites.

The Body Politic

Dave Zirin: She is our Jordan. She is our Jim Brown. She is our Babe Ruth, calling his shots. She is no longer content to dodge bullets, but understands how to stop them. Serena is that rare athlete who has not only mastered her sport. She’s harnessed it.